Samuel beatty



(No Model.)

S..BEATTY.

MACHINE FOR PRESSING STRAW HATS. I No. 366,066. r Patented July 5, 1887.

hil 1 INIIIHILJM HIM.

W V 3 4 I FFTQEQ ArENr SAMUEL BEATTY, OF N ORWALK, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNORTO THOMAS STANLEY VANDERHOEF, OF SAME PLACE.

MACHINE FOR PRESSING STRAW HATS.

' SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 366,066, dated July5, 188.7.

Application filed October 20, 1886. Serial No. $6,740. (No model.)

To all whom, itJH/CLZ/ concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL BEATTY, a cilizen of the United States,residing at Norwalk, in the county of Fairfield and State ofConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inMachines for Pressing Straw Hats; and I do hereby declare the followingto be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such aswill enable others skilled in the same.

the art to which it appertains to make and use My invention relates tostraw-hat-pressing machines.

Heretofore hats have been pressed by means of a metal die or mold placedin asteam-chamher, and a hollow shell or dome having at its base orlower part a flexible film or rubber bag bolted therein and expanded bywater or other fluids.

The operation is as follows: The metal die or mold is placed in thesteam-chamber, which is heated by hot air, steam, or by burners, and thehat to be pressed is inserted in this die or mold. The upper part of thepress, in which is bolted thefilm or rubber'bag, is then brought downand locked in place in any ordinary manner. against the film or rubberbag,which expands and assumes the form and shape of the hat, so as topress and fashion itin the shape required. After the hat has beenpressed, and before the dome or upper partof the press can be raised,the water must be allowed to run out of the film or bag. This operationis objectionable, for the reason that the film or rubber bag expandsunevenly and presses the hat hard in some places and soft in others, andoften bursts, necessitating a new bag,which adds to the cost ofmanufacture. It is also impossible to press the brim of the hatperfectly at the time the crown is pressed requiring the brim to bepressed by means of a hand-iron after coming from the hydraulic press;nor can a hat be pressed hard on the brim and soft on the crown, or viceversa, with' this device. If it is desired to press the hat hard on thecrown and soft on the brim, a solid-block press is required, making twopresses through which the hat must pass. This solid block is alsoobjectionable on account of the inability to WVater under pressure isthen forced keep the block in perfect shape, so that it will pressevenly and not press too hard in one spot and too soft in another; also,the impossibility of pressing the crown and brim at one operation.

The object of my invention is to do away with the film or rubber bag,fluid-pressure, solid-block press,and hand-iron, and construct a cheaphat-pressing machine to be operated by means of compressed air that willpress evenly every part of astraw hat, or, if desired,

press the crown hard and the brim soft, or

vice versa, at one operation.

The nature of my invention consists of constructions and combinations,all as will be hereinafter described in the specification, and pointedout in the claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, inwhich Figure 1 represents the steam-chamber; 2, the air-chamber andpumping device; Fig. 3, the metal die, and Fig. 4 the hollow flexibleblock.

A is the steam-chamber, which is heated by hot air, steam, or burners;B, the metal die, having crown and brim configu rations of the shape ofthe hat to be pressed, and is inserted in the steam-chamber A.

C is a hollow flexible block separate from the air-chamber and havingcrown and brim shaped to conform to the crown and brim configurations ofthe die 13, and is made of rubher or other air-tight material, and isplaced inside of the hat to be pressed and held in place by the pressureof the air.

If it is desired to press the hat-crown hard and brim soft,the crown ofthe flexible block is made of rubber and the brim of'fclt or othersuitable material; or, if it is desired to press the crown soft and brimhard, the construc tion is reversed.

D is the air-chamber, which has an air-tight joint at the point ofconnection with the steam-chamber A, and is provided in its top with twoapertures, E F, the aperture E for the admission of compressed air frompumping device, E, and aperture F for a gage to register the amount ofpressure.

The operation of my device is as follows: The air-chamber D is raised inthe usual manner. The metal die B is placed in the heated steamchamberA,and the hat to be pressed is placed in the die. The hollow flexibleblock is then placed inside of the hat, its brim covering the brim ofthe hat. The air chamber is then brought down and locked upon thesteamchamber and compressed air is forced through aperture E by means ofa pumping device until the gage registers a pressure sufficient to pressthe hat. The air-chamberis then raised to allowthe air to escape frombetween the block 0 and air-chamber D and pass between the steam and airchambers A D to the outer air direct, which leaves the press instantlyready to press another hat without waiting for the block to be relievedof its contents, as

heretofore.

' I do not wish to confine myself to pressing straw hats exclusively, asit is obvious that wool and felt hats can be pressed as well as straw bythis machine.

I do not claim the method herein described, as it forms thesubject-matter of another application filed by me March 3, 1887, SerialNo. 229,551.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent,

1. In astraw-hat-prcssing machine, the combination of a steam-chamber,A, metal die 13, having crown and brim configurations, flexible hollowblock 0, having crown and brim shaped to conform to the crown and brimconfigu rations of die B, and expanding or pressure devices for block 0,whereby the crown and brim of a hat are pressed or shaped at oneoperation, substantially as set forth.

2. A straw-hat-pressing machine consisting of a steam-chamber, a metaldie, air-chamber, and a flexible hollow block having a brim at tached,substantially as set forth.

3. Ina strawhat pressing machine, the combination of a steam-chamber, ametal die having crown and brim configurations, flexible hollow blockhaving crown and brim shaped to conform to the crown and brimconfigurations of the die, and an air-chamber above said flexible block,substantially as set forth.

4. In a straw-hat-pressing machine, the combination of a steam-chamber,a metal die having crown and brim configurations, flexible hollow blockhaving crown and brim shaped to conform to the crown and brimconfigurations of the die, an air-chamber above said flexible block, andair-compressing devices communicating with said chamber, substantiallyas set forth.

5. In a hat-pressing machine, the combination of a steam-chamber, a diein its upper face, a flexible block, an air-chamber separate from theblock, and expanding devices for the block, substantially as described.

6. In a hat-pressing machine, the combination of a steam-chamber, a die,a flexible block having a crown and brim conforming to the outline ofthe crown and brim of the hat to be pressed, an air-chamber separatefrom the block, and an expanding device for the block, substantially asdescribed.

7. A flexible hollow block for straw-hatpressing machines, having acrown and brim shaped to conform to the outline of the hat to bepressed, and the crown and brim parts of the block, composed ofdifferent flexible materials, substantially as and for the purpose setforth.

8. A flexible hollow block for straw-hatpressing machines, havingarubber crown and a felt brim shaped to conform to the outline of a hatto be pressed, substantially as set forth.

9. In a straw-hat-pressing machine, a heat ing-chamber, a die having acrown and brim configuration, and a flexible hollow block having arubber crown and a felt brim shaped to conform to the configurations ofthe die, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

10. Afiexible hollow block for hat-pressing machines, separate from theexpanding device, having a crown and brim shaped to conform to the.desired outline of the crown and brim of the hat to be pressed,substantially as set forth. p

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.SAMUEL BEATTY.

\Vitnesses:

G. WARD SMECK, I ALFRED H. CAMP.

